Using multimedia as an instructional tool in physical education

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of three teaching methods, multimedia, traditional and mixed instruction, upon learning cognitive topics (rules), motor skills (short badminton serve) and attitudes towards the instructional method. Physical education students were divided randomly into three groups: a multimedia group, a traditional group and a mixed group. The students' cognition of badminton and their effectiveness at the short badminton serve were measured at the beginning and at the end of the experiment. At the end of the experiment, the students' attitudes towards their teaching method were recorded with a questionnaire. The analyses revealed that all three groups significantly improved their cognition and performance of the short badminton serve. However, the multimedia group showed significantly greater improvement in learning than the traditional group. There were no observed significant differences between the three groups in the performance of the short badminton serve, although the traditional group showed greater improvement than the other two groups. There were also no observed significant differences between the three groups regarding the students' attitudes towards the teaching methods at the end of the educational procedure, except for the mixed group who showed more positive attitudes. The above results support the effectiveness of using multimedia programmes as a supplement for physical education instruction.